Hi everyone, i kind of stumbled onto the diy bio movement and it seems really interesting. I don't really know where to start so some recommended reading or tips would be really appreciated.

I got interested in this because there is a plant in my country that is supposed to have a positive effect on the immune system of someone who has a weakened immune system, for what ever reason. I saw it work on my mother when she had dengue fever a few months ago. Long story short, after the results from a blood analysis came back, it showed that her immune system wasn't doing too well, she came back home grounded the leaves and put them in water and drank it through a metal straw that we call "bombilla" that has a metal filter at the end. After which her immune system rebounded and got better, I've heard of other people doing this same thing and getting similar results.

So my question is, where can i start? i want to analyse this plant for it's medicinal properties and maybe turn it into some type of medicine. If what i've observed and heard is possible then many people could be benefited with this kind of medicine. And it's not the only one, many plants and the like are said to have medicinal properties around here, i've used some of them and they've been pretty effective. I would like to start testing and analysing them.

Btw im a Comp sci student, if i can make a good case i might be able to persuade my principal into getting the people in biotech and biology involved(my campus is about 200km from the main university campus where the dept. of science is located, which is why i haven't been able to go to them with this idea)

So you'd need an extraction kit like QIAamp Viral RNA Mini Kit, a one-step RT-PCR kit, the primers, and a gel or spec for measuring amplification. A bit expensive for a one-off test, but you can probably get samples if you shop around.

On Monday, March 28, 2016 at 2:53:34 AM UTC-7, Bryan Daniels wrote:

I am just back from Spring Break in Puerto Rico and have come down with a 103 F fever, sore eyes etc. CDC has classified PR as high risk Zika zone. Most likely I have influenza, but on the off-chance it is Zika, I thought it might be an interesting DIY bio project. (I am male and past pregnancy stages in our family. . .)

I'm wondering if anyone in DIY bio community has tried this test themselves (on the cheap). As I'm not feeling too well right now, so I am also interested in how to preserve samples (and what type of samples) for later use. Any straight-forward protocols, would be much appreciated.

I have a reasonably well equipped basic lab, but only ordinary PCR capabilities, I.e., no real-time OCR.

Identifying which particular disease you have is valuable information that many people even in developed countries have difficulty obtaining.

For instance, I had the flu but have no idea which strain. My decision of whether or not to get a flue shot next year would change depending on if the one I had, and am now immune is included. Rapid diagnosis in bacterial meningitis is crucial because it can kill so quickly and PCR is fast. IIRC Eva Harris's book "PCR at Home" brought a then new technology to Central America to rapidly identify dengue fever. This was, of course, used by by medical professionals.

"Currently, the standard assay for Zika viral infection is a PCR test that probes for the presence of viral RNA in a sample. While it works well to detect the virus, the pathogen's RNA is only around for a short period of time. "By the time [patients] make it into the clinic, the virus is likely gone or it's at the tail end, beyond the limit of detection," said Vasilakis."

I think many US hospitals underutilize PCR as a diagnostic tool. If you can safely come up with a protocol to do it yourself it is a worthwhile endeavor that would lead to wider implementation of PCR diagnostics.

Quick note to amend my random comments earlier... Blood is always potentially hazardous. I'm not volunteering to do anything with blood, just a poorly worded comment.

What I wanted to suggest is that he might take a sample, freeze it, and use his previously mentioned PCR capability to check for amplification. If I were in his situation that's what I'd do out of curiosity. It shouldn't be terribly difficult or expensive to do and would make an interesting project.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 6:20:31 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

Let me preface my point with a story.

About 5 years ago or so I went to a Genome conference in Boston. In between talks I was in the lobby and mingling with people, some around my own age at the time, early twenties. I met a kid and we got to talking. I said I was involved at a local community lab in Boston and did research stuff at home or at school on the side. He asked what we did at the lab and I said we did GFP transformations, DNA barcoding, etc. Basic molecular biology.

He said that was neat and all, but what he really wanted to do, and I'm not making this up was -- "I want to make like, a crazy virus, and put it on random door-handles"

I'll never forget that.

All of us in this community have a responsibility to ourselves, the world, the public, and each-other, to be exemplars of responsible citizen scientists. There's a person on this group that waited years for a license just to be able to do a GFP transformation outside of a lab in an EU country.

We enjoy a lot more freedom in the US for at-home or extra curricular science and engineering. No doubt though, garage and basement scientists are under scrutiny, whether it be from some invisible all-seeing government entity, the media, the general public, or even each-other.

I'm not saying don't go off the beaten path and be creative, inventive, or resourceful. I applaud your enthusiasm and tenacity, get that shit done.

All I'm saying is each and every one of us could be in the spotlight, and we should maintain a certain level of care in what we do, for our own well being, our neighbors well being, and the community we're all a part of here.

I don't know your background, skills, your circumstances, or access to space. You could be ultra-qualified to be processing blood samples and could be working in a university lab space you rent or are a part of where it's safe to handle these type of specimens.

I'm not trying to put you on blast here, I'm just saying, would you want someone you don't know processing human blood contaminated with Zika virus in a salad spinner centrifuge and lightbulb PCR machine in the apartment next door, and throwing everything out in the trash?

I was under the impression that this was a matter of curiosity rather than a medical issue... but yes, it is always better to outsource your medical needs to non-internet strangers, or internet based strangers that have paid their dues to the powers that be.

I would point out though that there's nothing wrong about drawing your own samples, every sample is mailed to a lab somewhere, and all blood products are considered potentially hazardous regardless of the source.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 5:18:15 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

I'm all for affordable and accessible diagnostics, but you should probably go to the doctors and not send potentially hazardous infectious self-drawn blood samples to a stranger from the internet.

Quick note to amend my random comments earlier... Blood is always potentially hazardous. I'm not volunteering to do anything with blood, just a poorly worded comment.

What I wanted to suggest is that he might take a sample, freeze it, and use his previously mentioned PCR capability to check for amplification. If I were in his situation that's what I'd do out of curiosity. It shouldn't be terribly difficult or expensive to do and would make an interesting project.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 6:20:31 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

Let me preface my point with a story.

About 5 years ago or so I went to a Genome conference in Boston. In between talks I was in the lobby and mingling with people, some around my own age at the time, early twenties. I met a kid and we got to talking. I said I was involved at a local community lab in Boston and did research stuff at home or at school on the side. He asked what we did at the lab and I said we did GFP transformations, DNA barcoding, etc. Basic molecular biology.

He said that was neat and all, but what he really wanted to do, and I'm not making this up was -- "I want to make like, a crazy virus, and put it on random door-handles"

I'll never forget that.

All of us in this community have a responsibility to ourselves, the world, the public, and each-other, to be exemplars of responsible citizen scientists. There's a person on this group that waited years for a license just to be able to do a GFP transformation outside of a lab in an EU country.

We enjoy a lot more freedom in the US for at-home or extra curricular science and engineering. No doubt though, garage and basement scientists are under scrutiny, whether it be from some invisible all-seeing government entity, the media, the general public, or even each-other.

I'm not saying don't go off the beaten path and be creative, inventive, or resourceful. I applaud your enthusiasm and tenacity, get that shit done.

All I'm saying is each and every one of us could be in the spotlight, and we should maintain a certain level of care in what we do, for our own well being, our neighbors well being, and the community we're all a part of here.

I don't know your background, skills, your circumstances, or access to space. You could be ultra-qualified to be processing blood samples and could be working in a university lab space you rent or are a part of where it's safe to handle these type of specimens.

I'm not trying to put you on blast here, I'm just saying, would you want someone you don't know processing human blood contaminated with Zika virus in a salad spinner centrifuge and lightbulb PCR machine in the apartment next door, and throwing everything out in the trash?

I was under the impression that this was a matter of curiosity rather than a medical issue... but yes, it is always better to outsource your medical needs to non-internet strangers, or internet based strangers that have paid their dues to the powers that be.

I would point out though that there's nothing wrong about drawing your own samples, every sample is mailed to a lab somewhere, and all blood products are considered potentially hazardous regardless of the source.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 5:18:15 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

I'm all for affordable and accessible diagnostics, but you should probably go to the doctors and not send potentially hazardous infectious self-drawn blood samples to a stranger from the internet.

About 5 years ago or so I went to a Genome conference in Boston. In between talks I was in the lobby and mingling with people, some around my own age at the time, early twenties. I met a kid and we got to talking. I said I was involved at a local community lab in Boston and did research stuff at home or at school on the side. He asked what we did at the lab and I said we did GFP transformations, DNA barcoding, etc. Basic molecular biology.

He said that was neat and all, but what he really wanted to do, and I'm not making this up was -- "I want to make like, a crazy virus, and put it on random door-handles"

I'll never forget that.

All of us in this community have a responsibility to ourselves, the world, the public, and each-other, to be exemplars of responsible citizen scientists. There's a person on this group that waited years for a license just to be able to do a GFP transformation outside of a lab in an EU country.

We enjoy a lot more freedom in the US for at-home or extra curricular science and engineering. No doubt though, garage and basement scientists are under scrutiny, whether it be from some invisible all-seeing government entity, the media, the general public, or even each-other.

I'm not saying don't go off the beaten path and be creative, inventive, or resourceful. I applaud your enthusiasm and tenacity, get that shit done.

All I'm saying is each and every one of us could be in the spotlight, and we should maintain a certain level of care in what we do, for our own well being, our neighbors well being, and the community we're all a part of here.

I don't know your background, skills, your circumstances, or access to space. You could be ultra-qualified to be processing blood samples and could be working in a university lab space you rent or are a part of where it's safe to handle these type of specimens.

I'm not trying to put you on blast here, I'm just saying, would you want someone you don't know processing human blood contaminated with Zika virus in a salad spinner centrifuge and lightbulb PCR machine in the apartment next door, and throwing everything out in the trash?

I was under the impression that this was a matter of curiosity rather than a medical issue... but yes, it is always better to outsource your medical needs to non-internet strangers, or internet based strangers that have paid their dues to the powers that be.

I would point out though that there's nothing wrong about drawing your own samples, every sample is mailed to a lab somewhere, and all blood products are considered potentially hazardous regardless of the source.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 5:18:15 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

I'm all for affordable and accessible diagnostics, but you should probably go to the doctors and not send potentially hazardous infectious self-drawn blood samples to a stranger from the internet.

I was under the impression that this was a matter of curiosity rather than a medical issue... but yes, it is always better to outsource your medical needs to non-internet strangers, or internet based strangers that have paid their dues to the powers that be.

I would point out though that there's nothing wrong about drawing your own samples, every sample is mailed to a lab somewhere, and all blood products are considered potentially hazardous regardless of the source.

On Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 5:18:15 PM UTC-7, Dakota wrote:

I'm all for affordable and accessible diagnostics, but you should probably go to the doctors and not send potentially hazardous infectious self-drawn blood samples to a stranger from the internet.

Glad to see the consensus here seems to be that all disease vector mosquitoes could be eliminated with a negligible negative effect on the environment.

Didn't really follow the patent discussion though. When human lives are on the line are we really worried about a potential patent suit down the road on something we made little to no money from?

I'm not sure what the motivation for the infringement suit would be if there is no money to be had. I don't doubt that in some other circumstances you might be the subject of a punitive action, but it doesn't seem like that would be the case in this instance.

Supposing a small non-profit corporation accidentally infringed on a patent or was unable to obtain suitable licensing terms and pursued a course that invited an infringement suit... what would the ramifications be? Would mega-corp sue a humanitarian organization just to make it fold and intimidate others with no hope of a profitable judgement?

It needs to be shipped to Moscow, Idaho. Basically the unit just needs to be picked up and delivered to the UPS store 5 min away. If you can box the unit that would be wonderful, but I believe the UPS store can handle that if needed. I already contacted the nearest UPS store and it does not seem to be a problem to supply payment info via email to have it shipped.

Please shoot me a text or email and I'll send the pickup number and shipping info. PayPal will be the easiest way to pay you for your time, but WU can be arranged also!

Witnessing daily the tragedy and human suffering caused by the Zika virus outbreak, and expecting the news to only get worse as mosquito season approaches and the true human cost is revealed, I feel compelled to devote time and effort into a solution. As my non-profit and I have a moderately well equipped molecular biology lab, we will be working to develop a vector control solution.

Oxitec has done a lot of work with repressable dominant lethal genes and produced two promising transgenic strains, a sterile male phenotype and a flightless female line. However, I'm of the opinion that large, publicly traded biotech corporations aren't the best vehicle in which to secure community involvement and are not necessarily oriented towards a permanent solution.

I'd like to develop a strategy for the development of a transforming vector, and then make it available to labs around the world for the actual transformation. Sort of a crowd sourced strategy to cover the labor involved in microinjection and create a large number of lines from diverse local populations.

To this end, it would be good to exploit positional effects to generate many lines with some variation. On the other hand, a more permanent solution would be to develop a gene drive system that could more effectively crash the population. Some good work has been done recently on CRISPR and TALEN based gene drive systems.

Do you need it shipped somewhere or delivered? Where are you located
that the unit needs to be?

Maria

On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 11:31 AM, Jake <jakestew@mail.com> wrote:
> So I bought a pipette puller on ebay, and it turns out to be local pickup
> only. The unit weighs approx. 30 lbs, and they won't ship it to me. I'm
> hoping someone here might be willing to pick it up at 1576 Rollins Rd in
> Burlingame, CA. Looks like it's right off the 101.
>
> This unit is for my non-profit's efforts to create a transgenic mosquito for
> vector control in relation to the Zika virus. We'd be hoping to pay around
> $30 and/or a tax-deductible donation receipt to cover time and expense.
> We'd also handle the shipping cost of course.
>
> Sorry if this message would be better on Craigslist, but I tried there
> already and I think I'm just getting scammers replying. If you can help us
> out please contact me ASAP via text/phone/email, as they are charging
> storage fees by the day.
>
> Jake Stewart
> World Justice Action Co.
> Two Zero Eight 310 2562
> jakestew at mail dot com
>
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